On Tuesday 10 October, the European Commission adopted a proposal on fishing opportunities for 2024 in the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
It intends to use the same tools as those supporting the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2022 and 2023: fishing effort for trawlers and longliners and catch limits for offshore shrimp (under the multi-annual management plan for demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean) to achieve maximum sustainable yield (MSY) by 1 January 2025 at the latest.
Most of the fishing opportunities will be proposed at a later stage, depending on the results of the annual session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) (6-10 November 2023) and scientific advice (end of October).
In the Mediterranean Sea, the proposal maintains the measures relating to red coral and reduces catches of blackspot seabream and deep-water shrimps.
In the Adriatic Sea, as far as small pelagic stocks are concerned, the proposal continues the implementation of the multiannual plan. For demersal stocks, it is proposed to implement the fishing effort management system in line with the objective of achieving MSY by 2026.
In the Black Sea, the proposal maintains the sprat TAC (11,475 tonnes) at the same level as 2023. The turbot TAC will be set at the GFCM’s annual session in 2023. The EU Council will set these TACs on 11 and 12 December.
Link to the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/8za (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)